Top 10 List - Identity Theft and UNL Students

Live from Lincoln, Nebraska, this is our Top 10 list of things that UNL Students should beware of in regards to Identity Theft.

Website security - do you see a padlock? This quick reference shows that a website is secure. Do not input personal or financial data on a website without a padlock. We recommend bookmarking safe websites and understanding the difference between an .edu, or .com site (our campus website is unl.edu not Nebraska.com). The MyRed portal is the one-stop shop for students, it includes your classes, links to Canvas or Blackboard, and financial information. FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) protects your student information. Be aware shoulder surfing in public spaces!

Downloads for students: UNL offers our students a variety of software options, some free and some for reduced price (Adobe Creative). The Symantec Antivirus is free and recommended for all UNL students. A list of software is available via our HuskerTech site. ITS also encourages our campus to run updates on computers and all devices, patch management keeps everyone safe.

Phishing/Vishing: don't click the link, when in doubt, throw it out! Be careful of callers 'offering to help you fix your computer'. Microsoft doesn't call people up to tell them their software is causing errors.

Pass codes: Use them! Pass codes are the first step to keeping one's information and data secure. Review what is stored on devices; banking, social media accounts, photos, email and other personal data all reside on something that fits in most jean pockets. Don't share your pass code with others and evaluate the crisis that the convenience of not updating or using the settings may cause. Also be aware that most information and data is backed up to the cloud and my not be as secure as assumed.

Single Sign-on (SSO) is also know as Active Directory (AD). This is the unique username and password for faculty, staff and student accounts at UNL. It is very important that students protect their passwords. Don’t forget to claim your huskers.unl.edu email, this provides access to many University services. We also recommend that students manage their online identity, search yourself online to see what information is available to future employers or colleagues.

Cloud Storage - UNL provides Box for collaboration and cloud storage of information. This is a great way to back-up your research or papers and share information.

Printers – please be aware that wireless printers not secure. While a free printer with laptop purchase is great, it can cause security issues on the network. At UNL, INK available for student printing on campus. With over 24 kiosks, this is an affordable option for printing in black & white, color and allows for scanning or sharing from your cloud accounts.

Stranger Danger 2.0: please guard your personal information. While a free t-shirt or Frisbee is nice, do exchange your personal information for freebies from companies looking for college student’s business.

Social media not blocked on campus, beware what you share! While some social media sites such as Facebook are blocked at middle and high schools, we do not filter or block websites at UNL.

Laptops for checkout – we re-image after each use. Do you need to borrow a laptop? Stop by one of the HuskerTech locations to check-out a Mac or PC machine. Feel free to try some of the software available to students or work on projects. Be sure to save to your Box account as we re-image each machine when returned!